


oh, the weather outside is frightful

by Author_Incognito



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21735451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_Incognito/pseuds/Author_Incognito
Summary: It's the biggest snowstorm seen in recent years, and all Morgan Stark wants is for her big brother to be there so that he can celebrate Christmas with her.
Relationships: Happy Hogan/May Parker (Spider-Man), Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

The beginning rays of dawn have just begun to shine over the homely cabin nestled in upstate New York when a particularly powerful gust of wind startles five-year-old Morgan Stark out of her peaceful slumber. She sits in her bed for a moment, clutching her blanket decorated with cartoonish style avengers in her tiny fists as she contemplates whether or not she should get up or just try to fall back asleep again. Another ghastly howl sends shivers up her spine and she makes up her mind. Wrapping the blanket tightly around her, Morgan gets up, determined on finding her Mommy and Daddy.

It turns out that wandering about in her dark, cold house with a blanket wrapped around her isn't exactly the best decision, as Morgan find herself nearly tripping over it half a dozen times. The sound of the rain is somehow even louder outside of her room, but still she walks on. Shadows on the walls creep and lunge out after her, and Morgan has to swallow back her fear and tilt her chin up high. There's no doubt in her mind that she can brave the journey ahead of her, no matter how tough it may be.

After what feels like forever and a matter of seconds all at once, Morgan reaches her parents' bedroom door and is quite relieved to find that it is open just a crack. She carefully pushes it open, wincing slightly as it creaks. Morgan stumbles into the room, greeted by the sight of her parents dozing soundly in a bed covered with sheets and ever fading moonlight. 

She walks up to the bed, letting her own blanket fall to a heap around her feet. "Daddy?" Her tiny whisper sounds like a giant shout in the accompanying silence. Her father doesn't hear her, snoring on in whatever dreams currently occupy his head .

"Daddy!" She tries again, this time louder and shaking him slightly. It does the trick. Daddy jolts awake, staring at her with wide, brown eyes.

"Morgan?" He asks in a comforting whisper. "What are you doin' up?"

"It was stormin'" Morgan replies, wrapping her arms around her. "Is Uncle Thor here?" She doesn't even bother to mask the hopeful edge in her voice.

"No, Uncle Thor's in space with Auntie Nebula, remember?"

"Oh." Indeed she had forgotten. With all of these new people coming around it was hard to keep track of who was who and what was what and where everyone went. Uncle Thor and Aunt Nebula went off into space and Uncle Steve had come back all old and wrinkly, his blond hair now a stark white and what seemed to be a permanent hump to his back. Daddy had joked that she should now call him Grandpa Steve, but Morgan had more than enough change to deal with at the moment, so she had declined. For now, at least.

"You wanna come up here." Daddy said, more of a statement than a question. Morgan nodded. "Alright" He rolled over.

Oh, that was right. Daddy couldn't lift her up into his bed anymore. At least, not at night-time. He usually took off the bright red and gold prosthetic arm he now had to use before he went to bed. She had become used to the prosthetic over the past few months, but it was at times like this that she realized how truly different things had become. It had been quite of a shock when Mommy had brought her into the hospital room all that time ago, her Daddy attached to all of those wires and monitors that beeped all around him all the while missing one of his limbs. Mommy had told her in the waiting room that Daddy was very hurt right now and that it would be scary to see him like this but that he was going to be okay and oh Morgan he loves you so much. She had whispered the same thing right before they entered the room, but Morgan had ignored her and everything else and immediately climbed up onto the hospital bed so that she could lie next to him. 

"Pep." Daddy said as he shook Mommy awake. He jerked his head back towards Morgan. "She wants to come up here." 

Mommy brought herself up into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Hi sweetie, did you have a bad dream?" She asked as she reached across the bed to pull Morgan into her arms. 

Morgan shook her head. "The rain is loud." She frowned up at the ceiling, wanting the heavens to notice her displeasure with them.

"Yes, it is." Mommy answered almost absent-mindedly. She was staring up at the ceiling as well, although concern covered her face instead of annoyance. "Tony, do you think Peter and May will have trouble getting up here?"

Daddy joined their gazes. "I don't know." He said, regretfully. "But it's," Daddy looked over at the clock on the nightstand, "six in the morning, and I really don't want to draw the ire of May Parker this early in the day. What?" He asked, noticing Mommy's look of disapproval. "You've never been on the receiving end of one of her lectures; all you do is go on coffee dates with her in the city." 

"And we meet up at least once a week to discuss how ridiculous our lives are." Mommy added, smiling as she laid back down, bringing Morgan with her.

"Huh, that too. You ever think about inviting me to one of those?" 

"Hmm, I'll think about it."

Morgan had had enough of this. "Shh." She said, slapping her hands over her parents mouths. "Sleepy time. See Aunt May and Petey tomorrow." 

"In the morn-" Daddy began to correct, but Morgan silenced him with a glare. "Tomorrow." He amended, helping Mommy pull the covers back over the three of them. And Morgan smiled as she fell back asleep in the arms -or in her father's case, arm- of her parents, content.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna add a small warning here cause there's a flashback scene where Morgan accidentally triggers a panic attack for Tony.

The sun had risen in its full glory only to be almost immediately masked by the numerous gray clouds in the sky, and the rain that had woken up Morgan several hours earlier had now turned to snow by the time she'd opened her eyes once more. She looked out the window with excitement, tearing the covers off of her and nearly falling off of the bed in her haste to look out of it. "Wow." She whispered, nose pressed up against the glass, her breath fogging it up. There was only a thin covering of snow that lay on the ground, but it showed no signs of stopping, and Morgan was excited as to what that meant in the near future. 

If it didn't stop, then that would mean that she could play with Peter outside in the snow. They could build snowmen and make snow angels and possibly even have a snowball fight. And to make it even better, this was the first year that she'd be able to do that with him. She couldn't wait. She ran out of the room, heading towards the kitchen where she heard Mommy talking to Daddy as she cooked breakfast.

"It's snowing!" She announced to them as soon as she came in, just in case they weren't yet aware. This was very important information and she just had to make sure they knew about the wondrous thing that was occurring just outside their front door.

"Yes, it is!" Mommy said with a laugh as she flipped a pancake over, bacon sizzling on the frying pan next to her. 

Daddy was leaning against the counter, and Morgan was pleased to notice that the Christmas tree stickers she had put on his prosthetic arm the day before were still attached, albeit now peeling slightly at the edges.

Despite -or perhaps because of- the early morning a cup of coffee was already in his hand. Morgan didn't know why he liked the stuff so much. She had once tried to sneak a drink of it when he wasn't looking and had almost instantly started choking at how bitter it was. 

"Bleh." She had said, spitting into her sleeve and frantically wiping her tongue to get the atrocious taste off. "That's gross! How can you drink that?" 

Daddy shrugged and just told her, "It's an acquired taste," before taking another long sip of the offending brew.

Morgan had nodded solemnly at him before going to find Mommy. "Mommy," she said, hoping that her mother would understand the grave importance of what Morgan was about to tell her. "Don't ever let Daddy choose what we're having to eat, because he has a bad 'quired taste."

"Okay, sweetie." Mommy said with her hand covering her mouth, unable to mask her shakes of laughter. Morgan didn't know what was so funny, but she hoped that Mommy would take her concern in to consideration. Unless it turned out that Mommy had poor taste in food as well, and in that case Morgan felt that she would just have to start planning their meals herself.

Morgan now ran up to Daddy and gave him a hug, wrapping her arms around his legs and glowering at the cup he held as she did so. :

"Hey, Maguna." He said, running the cool, metal fingers of his prosthetic arm through her hair. "Did you sleep well? You know, after waking up and all."

"Mmm-Hmm" she nodded, pressing her face against his hip. She looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Can I play in the snow with Peter when he gets here?"

Daddy cleared his throat, getting down on his knees so that he could be face to face with her. "Actually, Morgan, me and Mommy wanted to talk to you about that."

Morgan tilted her head, confused. "About what?"

Daddy sighed, stealing himself for whatever he was about to tell her. "We don't know if Peter will be able to make it for Christmas this year. It's just started to snow here, but it's getting really bad in the city. 

Morgan pouted. "But he _promised._ You can't break promises."

Daddy smiled sadly at her. "Listen even if Peter can't make it right now he'll still probably come as soon as the storm is over and the snow melts. It might be a few days, but we will have Christmas with him then."

"But it's not the _same!_ " Morgan complained, stomping her foot on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know." He sighed before hugging her again. "I know." 

* * *

_The thing was Morgan had always known she had a brother. She saw it in the photographs of the teenage boy that lay scattered around the house. She saw it in the sad look Daddy got whenever he saw something about the snap. She saw it in the way he held her close whenever she was sick. But, apparently, she was the only one who did, because when she had asked Daddy about the brother she had never met, he just looked confused._

_"Brother?" He questioned her one night after she had asked for a story about him. It had been late and they were sitting on the couch together, Morgan perched on his lap while she played with a toy War Machine in her hands" Morgan you don't have a brother."_

_"Yes I do!" Morgan said, shaking her head at her Daddy's silliness. "He's the boy in the pictures!"_

_Morgan didn't know what she had done wrong, because one second Daddy was holding her and the next he had pushed her off of him and ran out of the room._

_"Hey, Daddy!" She said indignantly as her toy fell out of her hands and went halfway beneath the couch._

_It wasn't until the next night when she was tucked in her bed that Daddy came and apologized for what happened. "Hey Morgan. I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. I wish you'd hadn't seen that. It's just -" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Who told you that Pe- that boy was your brother." He swallowed heavily._

_Morgan shrugged. "No one. It's just, well, Mommy and Uncle Rhodey and Uncle Happy talk about him sometimes and how you were close to him, so I just thought that made him my brother. And you never talk about him so I just wanted to hear about him from you. I'm sorry, Daddy."_

_Daddy didn't speak for a long time, looking off into the corner of her room as if seeing something that she couldn't perceive. "Yeah, I guess he was sort of your brother." His voice cracked at the end._

_He gave her a sad smile. "Goodnight." He kissed her delicately on her forehead and left, closing the door gently behind him as he did._

* * *

It was astounding how something that had once brought her great joy mere hours before now only gave her deep resentment. Morgan was playing in her room, glancing out the window every so often at the snow that was piling up on the ground and taunting her. For the first time in her life she just _wished_ it would stop snowing. Sure she loved the snow, but she loved Peter even more. 

She tried to keep on amusing herself with the array of blocks, stuffed animals, and dolls that lay before her, but the truth of the matter was that her heart just wasn't in it. So she left. If she wasn't happy in her room then perhaps she could find something else to distract her.

She walked through the house. Feet guiding her aimlessly through the paths she had trekked through numerous times before. Sometimes walking. Sometimes running. Sometimes dancing. Now she only shuffled, heavy bricks of sorrow weighing her down. 

All of the plans of having fun with Peter were disappearing, floating away on the wind. Yesterday she had daydreamed about the presents that lay heaped beneath the Christmas tree. Now she only thought about how much fun she would be having if only her brother were here. They could be doing so much together. They could be coloring or playing or conducting their own science experiments. The possibilities were endless.

Morgan stopped walking, having noticed she stood face to face with the guest room. Well, it used to be the guest room, but then when Peter started staying at the house more it quickly became his own room. What used to be a relatively bare room compared to the rest of the house was now filled with evidence that it now belonged to a teenage boy. Posters adorned the walls and pictures sat on the dresser, the people in the frames smiling back out at her. Legos from his last visit still lay scattered haphazardly on the floor and Morgan gave a small laugh at that, wondering what Daddy would say if he knew about that. 

But her amusement didn't last long. The empty room only served to reminder of who wasn't there, and if anything she felt even worse than before. So, her head hanging heavy, she turned around and walked back the way she came.

* * *

_The first time Morgan met her previously dead brother was in the hospital waiting room, waiting for her Daddy to get better. Mommy was talking to a lady with long brown hair a few seats away. Morgan didn't know who she was, but with the way that she kept looking at her brother Morgan assumed that she must be his mommy._

_"Hi!" Morgan said, swinging her feet back and forth in her chair. "You're my brother."_

_Um, Hi?" The boy said, clearly confused. "I'm Peter. Who are you?"_

_"Morgan Stark." Morgan replied, to which Peter's eyes went wide in disbelief. "Mommy said that you might be surprised to see me, but that's okay. I'm gonna be your friend." She got up out of her seat and using the entire strength that her five-year-old body could muster she managed to pull him up and out of his chair. "Come play with me!" She demanded, leading him over to a bag full of toys that she had brought with her._

_She pulled out a miniature robot Daddy had made her for her fourth birthday. "This is Budd-e!" She waved the device's mechanical arm at him._

_"Hey." Peter told the robot which gave a small beep in reply. "That looks like Dum-e." He turned his attention back to Morgan._

_"Yep! Daddy modeled her after him!" Morgan said._

_"Wow. That's - that's something." He picks up a random item from the bag. "So what do you want to play?"_

_They played for hours on end, and later when Morgan is exhausted from the day and leaning her head against Mommy's shoulder as she quietly dozes off to sleep, she hears Peter ask, "Why does Morgan think I'm her brother?"_

_To which Mommy can only reply, "Because you are."_

* * *

"Can't you just call and ask them if they'll be here?" Morgan asked her Mommy as she lay halfway off the couch.

"Daddy called May a few hours ago and she still didn't think they'd make it. And sit up, you could hurt herself."

"I won't hurt myself." Morgan muttered to herself, but still she pulled herself back into a seating position. 

"Uncle Rhodey should be here soon." Mommy said. 

"Oh. That's nice." Morgan replied, and it truly was. Then a thought occurred to her. "What about Uncle Happy?"

Mommy paused. "He was supposed to be coming with May and Peter." 

That's right, Morgan thought, Uncle Happy had moved in with Aunt May and Peter a few weeks ago after they'd been dating for a few months. Great. Now she had to miss someone else this Christmas. Tears began to fall unwarranted down her face. "It's not fair!" She cried, rubbing her eyes. "It's not fair!"

Mommy pulled her up into her arms and Morgan buried her face into her neck as she sobbed uncontrollably. "I know, honey, I know." 

* * *

_"But I don't want you to go!" Morgan complained to Peter as she watched him pack up his belongings._

_Peter sighed. "I know you don't, Morgan, but I have school tomorrow. Besides, you know that I'll be back next weekend."_

_Morgan frowned. "But I'll miss you."_

_"I know, but listen. As soon as I get home I'm gonna call you and talk to you until you get sick of me and are begging me to hang up."_

_"I could never get sick of you." Morgan said, offended that he could even think that._

_"And I could never be sick of you." Peter told her._

_"I Love you, Morgan." Peter hugged her._

_"Love you, Peter." Morgan replied as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, wishing he'd never leave._

* * *

Morgan must have cried herself to sleep, because the next thing she knew Mommy was gone and she was lying down alone on the couch. She yawned as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but it must have been a while because she heard Uncle Rhodey talking to Daddy and Mommy and the sky outside was almost pitch black. It must be almost time for dinner, she thought as she stood up. 

She was just getting ready to say hi to Uncle Rhodey when she heard it. The sound of tires slowly crunching up the driveway. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but still she looked out into the darkness. Aunt May's car was slowly ambling up towards the cabin. She could hardly believe it. She closed her eyes and shook her head, just in case she was imagining it, but when she opened her eyes once more nothing had changed. A smile began to spread across her cheeks. " They're here! They're here!" Morgan shouted with glee, and before either Mommy or Daddy or Uncle Rhodey could stop her she had flung the front door open and ran out into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> you can also find me on tumblr at stark-tony


End file.
